In a case with huge implications for broadcast radio, the Supreme Court has overturned the Federal Communications Commission’s sanctions against Fox Television News for broadcasting so called “fleeting expletives”—essentially potty talk spoken on the fly. The same relief was extended to ABC for broadcasting a brief nudity scene on NYPD Blue. “Because the Commission failed […]
Today the FCC granted consent to the assignment of the license for University of San Francisco (USF) radio station KUSF to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). In light of this news, Friends of KUSF has announced that they intend to appeal the FCC’s approval of the license transfer. According to a statement from the lawyers […]
Nearly 17 months after University of San Francisco (USF)’s college radio station KUSF was shut down without warning, the FCC has granted the KUSF license to Classical Public Radio Network (CPRN). For those who have been fighting this sale for all this time, there might be some comfort in the fact that the FCC has […]
In the face of a supposedly looming “spectrum crunch,” Congress and the President are endlessly threatening/promising to produce a conclusive compendium of where all the usable radio bands are presently located. I’m starting mine now for radio spectrum that is used in one way or another by radio stations—as opposed to TV, public safety responders, […]
It was forty years ago this Sunday that comedian George Carlin recorded the Class Clown album which five years later would inadvertently provoke the Supreme Court to canonize seven simple words as the apotheosis of American verbal vulgarity. That case, FCC v Pacifica, would come to be known as the “seven dirty words” ruling, named […]
Yesterday the FCC granted the request by Principle Broadcasting Network to assign the license for San Jose-area radio station KCNL 104.9 FM to University of Southern California (USC) for use as an outlet for classical radio station KDFC. Along with granting the license assignment (part of a $7.5 million deal), the FCC also granted the […]
This Wednesday the Federal Communications Commission will hold a live, streaming forum on how the agency plans to handle Low Power FM and translator applications. “The focus of the forum will be how pending FM translator applicants from the 2003 Auction 83 window and pending and prospective FM translator modification applicants will be processed,” the […]
SiriusXM announced positive first quarter results on Tuesday, with the number of subscribers growing to an all time high of 22.3 million. The company also said that its retaining 45% of subscribers who got a trial subscription with the purchase of a new satellite radio equipped car. Its stock (SIRI) price jumped a bit–from $2.26 […]
Wednesday the FCC announced that it’s dropping from Friday’s open meeting an item addressing non-commercial radio stations’ ability to fundraise on-air for other non-profit organizations. The item appears to deal with stations raising money for efforts like disaster relief. But, as I wrote earlier this month, this rulemaking might also address non-commercial stations being operated […]
The National Association of Broadcasters annual show and convention just started in Las Vegas, bringing together nearly every sector of the broadcast industry to show off new products, discuss trends and hob nob. Unfortunately, the Radio Survivor travel budget doesn’t yet cover more than cab fare across town, so we don’t have a correspondent on […]
